Four criteria
for selecting
the best
talent
"Half of directing is casting the right actors"
- John Huston
John Huston’s words of wisdom have stuck with me since I first heard them in film school. The legendary director's decision to cast Humphrey Bogart for the part of Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon” was only the first of many that changed the course of filmmaking history. And Huston wasn't the only director to concur. John Frankenheimer claimed that casting was "65% of directing," and Ridley Scott believes that "casting is everything." I wholeheartedly agree, and not just because three of my heroes said so.
When I started Expansion Team I took this adage to heart. It was the main reason that our business model was fundamentally different than all of our competitors when we launched ten years ago. Even as we evolve, it remains at the core of our company philosophy.
Tradition in the advertising music business would have you believe that a composer can be equally good at many different music styles, and that you only need a handful of talented people waiting in studios to handle every client request. But in my experience there are few musicians who are truly good at everything, and waiting kills creativity.
Consider the best chefs in the world. Even when they've attained mastery of all aspects of their craft, they remain passionate about a single cuisine, and are only truly masters of those flavors, ingredients, and techniques. They are intimate with the history of their cooking style and can channel the souls of the people who inspired them to study it. They are never content to stick with what they know, and are always experimenting and pushing into new territory. It's so much more than having a refined aesthetic, it's a commitment to moving themselves, their craft, and their patrons forward. I find the best musicians are no different.
I have 4 criteria for selecting artists for a project:
1. They need to be experts in their genre.
I want them to be inspired by the aesthetic boundaries I'm giving them, not boxed in. It always helps if they've released a recording similar to what we need, but I want the music to feel new and original, never copied.
2. They must be able to tell a story with music.
Producing and engineering a specific sound palette is an important part of an assignment, but the heart of a song is in its melody and how it’s structured. It doesn't matter if the piece is heavily scored to picture or not, there's always a story to be told, and we need to take the audience on an emotional journey.
3. They need to have the best tools for the job.
Sometimes you need an incredible drummer and a spacious studio to get the perfect drum sound, but sometimes a sampler and a bedroom overcrowded with gear is preferable. I want our artists to create the sound that they’re known for, not fit into someone else’s mold.
4. They need to be good people.
The music business is intense, the advertising world runs at full throttle, mobile content has ridiculous deadlines, and TV networks need everything yesterday. People who enjoy the process, hear critique without ego, and can still have fun when the heat is on are extremely valuable.
In ten years, we've gathered over 50 inspiring artists who exemplify these values. If you know more, please send them our way.
- Alex Moulton, Founder/Creative Director
